The M163 VADS (Vulcan Air Defense System) was an American self-propelled anti-aircraft gun from the Cold War period. The vehicle entered service in 1968. The car was powered by an engine General Motors 6V53 diesel engine with 212 hp. It was armed with a 20mm General Dynamics M168 Vulcan autocannon.
Car The M163 VADS was developed as a supplement to the M48 Chapparal air defense missile system. To shorten the design work, it was decided to adapt a lot of components and elements from the structure of the M113 armored personnel carrier. By the way, the chassis designation was changed to M741. A properly adapted M61 Vulcan cannon was selected as the main armament. Despite the use of many proven and successful elements, the M163 turned out to be not a very successful weapon system. It quickly turned out that it was ineffective against modern jet aircraft. The system was at best comparable to the Soviet ZSU-23-4, although it was inferior to it in many fields and was clearly inferior to the German system Gepard. As a result, it was quickly started to be used against manpower and lightly armored vehicles. Several development versions were created in the course of production. The first was the M163A1, which used the adapted chassis of the M113A1 transporter, not the M113. The M163A2 version was created in the same way, by adapting the chassis of the M113A2 car. Finally, the M163 vehicles were withdrawn from the line in favor of the M1097 Avenger and M6 Linebacker. The M163 vehicles were exported to several countries, including Chile, Ecuador, Israel and South Korea. They also took part in some armed conflicts, mainly in the Vietnam War (1964 / 65-1975) or in the Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991).
 
1/35 Scale